Metro Transit proposes early January end to Northstar Commuter Rail

The end of the line for the struggling Northstar Commuter Rail could come in early January, according to a plan a Metropolitan Council committee discussed Wednesday that council members will vote on later this month.

Under the proposal, the final Northstar train would run Jan. 3 or 4 of next year, after the last regular season Vikings game. Metro Transit would transition to bus service along parts of the route the following Monday.

“This is sad in the sense that Northstar was a brilliant idea, aspirational,“ said Met Council Chair Charlie Zelle at the meeting Wednesday. ”It is a shame that we feel like at this point we will need to have a transition.“

Still, Zelle said, amid low ridership and rising costs, policymakers have a duty to spend public resources wisely.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Council announced in February they were considering shutting down the Northstar train.

The agencies did not set a timeline for the decision, but the announcement came after MnDOT found running buses between Minneapolis and St. Cloud would cost $2 million per year, compared to the $12 million annual cost of running the Northstar.

The Northstar was originally conceived as a commuter rail line between Minneapolis and St. Cloud as a convenient way to connect central Minnesota to the Twin Cities. It never made it that far. Instead, it opened in 2009 between Minneapolis and smaller Big Lake, Minn.

The line has long struggled with ridership, a problem that pre-dated the pandemic but was compounded by COVID-era changes in riding habits and service cuts. By 2024, there were an average of 430 rides per weekday.

Another challenge is changing rider needs, said Northstar transition director Craig Lamothe. Riders have asked for more midday and weekday service, which he said Metro Transit can’t adequately add under contracts with BNSF Railway, which owns the tracks Northstar operates on.

The cost per ride on Northstar has also risen significantly, Lamothe said. By 2023, taxpayers were subsidizing each Northstar ride to the tune of $116, up from $16 in 2017. It’s the second-highest per-ride subsidy of any U.S. commuter rail.

The Northstar has drawn the ire of Republican policymakers. Earlier this year, Minnesota’s Republican congressional delegation, led by Rep. Tom Emmer, wrote a letter to a federal appropriations subcommittee to recommend eliminating federal funding for the Northstar Commuter Rail line and other state rail projects. Rep. Jon Koznick, R-Lakeville, introduced legislation this year that would have, if passed, shut down the rail line.

Met Council documents outline a new Route 888 coach bus that would run between Ramsey and Minneapolis. Route 827, replacing the current 852, would run from Fridley to Minneapolis. The buses would run at 30-minute intervals during rush hours. Both would start in 2026.

The Met Council transportation committee will discuss the plan Aug. 11, a meeting that will include a public comment period. The council is expected to vote on the plan Aug. 27.

Nathaniel Minor of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this story.